3rd Swanson Escape Troublesome

In what is starting to look like watching the same movie over and over, there was another incident of inmates escaping from the Swanson Youth Correctional Center here in Monroe. According to law enforcement and media accounts, eight inmates escaped from the facility soon after midnight on May 9, as they allegedly were somehow able to get control of a van, and plow through a fence that borders Jackson Street. The fence was breached in about the same spot where an earlier vehicle was used several weeks ago when about a dozen inmates used the same method to escape. News reporting of the details that pertained to how so many inmates as in the previous escapes were carried out, has been kept from the public. what we do know by looking at the damaged fence as repairs are made, that officials at Swanson should began to tell the public, especially those who live within the proximity of the facility, just what is going on. The public can appreciate the swift response that comes from law enforcement on the capture of the inmates, but officials at Swanson and the Office of Juvenile Justice needs to explain to the public what appears to be serious security issues. According to unconfirmed sources, after the inmates escaped, Monroe Police Department along with other agencies quickly captured one of the inmates near the scene of the crash at the security fence. The others allegedly fled on foot. A K-9 unit accompanied officers as they pursued the inmates heading east to the railroad tracks that runs parallel to Jackson St. From there the search continued north along the tracks where five more of the inmates were allegedly found. Unconfirmed sources say that two of the inmates were bit by the dog. The remaining two inmates were not captured, and as of this column, remain at large.

The two inmates that remain at large. One is charged with theft of a firearm, aggravated second degree assault and cruelty to the infirmed. His companion is charged with armed robbery and first-degree robbery. Escapes can and do occur from correctional facilities, but three successive attempts in just a month, leaves a lot of questions that need to be asked, but answers appear to be in short supply. The Office of Juvenile Justice continues to offer generic, not specific answers, while incidents occur at juvenile facilities where staff and inmates find themselves in an environment, where both are confined together for long hours or just minutes, maybe seconds from the next outburst. We have to do better.